thegreenhowards

I have a full length quad art built from the Kirk kits. It was the first kit I built after coming back into the hobby c.10 years ago., so is a little ropey! I didn't realise that it needed handrails on the doors and other detailing stuff - I just followed the instructions. The underframe instructions were along the lines of 'this should really have truss rods which you can build from the wire included or we include angle iron for an easier option'. I did the truss rods. Here is a photo of my set on Gresley Jn. ...and a link to a video of it in action. The kit is no longer available, and I have been keeping an eye out on eBay for a reasonably priced second set, but they all seem to go quite serious money. As I'm now mainly modelling in O gauge, I've gone for an O gauge example instead. Six of the eight carriages are now built - here are the first four.

Surely once painted, the resin is well protected from UV light?

I’m making progress with the baseboards and track laying. I’ve now got the three main boards painted in primer/ undercoat/ top coat to protect them and I’m starting laying things out. This is the board for the west end of the platforms. The ESB is cut the the track plan and I’m laying self adhesive closed cell foam as underlay. I’m planning to glue the track down and ballast in one go, so I need the platforms in first. This shows the side bits in place glued with PVA and temporarily held by the offcuts of wood from when I cut the track bed. They are made from 5mm foam board. And now with a platform surface, also from the foam board. The land rises behind the platform and I will build that on top of the foam board which is a nice light but firm base. I’ve tried to cut an angle into the top surface of the foam board to make the cornice under the platform. It’s a bit rough but hopefully will create an impression. If anyone has a better idea of how to create it then please shout. My plan now is to put coping stones on made from 2mm plasticard. Then the sides and coping stones will be painted in a concrete paint and fine brown ballast used behind for the platform surface.. The important question is how big should the coping stones be? Based on the photos above, I’m thinking 4ftx2ftx4”. Does that sound reasonable? Andy

Evening Tony, It’s 64140. I changed it from my original version about 5 years ago. I think this was one of the last in service and I seem to remember there were constraints around the tender as well. Regards Andy

My own K’s J3 is one of the very few locomotives which I built as a teenager which are still in use today, 40 years on. I never did get the K’s mechanism to work satisfactorily, but I have more recently put her on a Bachmann Pannier chassis which is the correct wheelbase and has wheels which are only marginally too small. She now runs like a dream. Here she is on our club exhibition layout, Oakbourne, at the Beckenham show on Saturday (https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/148179-oakbourne/?do=findComment&comment=4958568). I’ve no idea whether she should be called a J3.5, but she looks the biz to me. Andy

We had an excellent day out at the Beckenham &West Wickham exhibition today. The day shot by and I didn’t have much time for photos, but I did manage a couple and took some video which I’ll edit later. Here are the photos I took. First the new lighting rig which definitely improved things - both from a lighting point of view and by making the layout look more professional (IMHO). Here are a couple from the running today. Firstly the J3 on the brick train. Then the L1 on a passenger (twice) BRCW type 2 shunting parcels and finally the J6 on the oil train.

I use Peco point packaging. It’s clear, quite stiff and freely available.

I’ll also be exhibiting at Beckenham on our club’s 00 layout, Oakbourne. If any of you are going, do pop over and say hello. Andy

That makes sense. Probably Highfield Models as in this post. I have a couple of their vehicles already. A NE milk van and an LNER bread van - both bought second hand. They are a little basic by today’s standards but IMHO make very respectable layout coaches.

Bill, I assume this is the vehicle coming my way? It looks rather good in the photos - certainly worth spending some time on. I agree with Jon’s verdict of a D.174 NER BCK. The Longworth book gives the running numbers which survived into BR days including numbers either side of 2388 (2341 and 2406), so is it possible that this is the correct number post the LNER renumbering? Now, the important question; given the identity, can anyone opine on what this would have been used on in LNER days? (Assuming this is the vehicle you promised me), I’d like to run it with my rake of ex GER Holden 50’ vestibuled stock (as below), two of which I also acquired from Bill as this rake needs another brake. Is this in any way credible? Andy

Despite all the gloom about shows, GETS announced on Sunday afternoon that it was their best attended show ever, so not all shows are in retreat.

Hi David, I’ve just found your thread and read it through from the beginning. Your photos are amongst the most realistic I have ever seen. Truly stunning. If I get half as good on Glenfinnan I will be very pleased. Andy

I went to GETS on Sunday. I thought there were some good layouts there. Allerby (modern image O gauge) was right up my street and Sydney Gardens and Bradford on Tome were great examples of roundy roundy watch the trains go by layouts which I really enjoyed. There were so many good layouts there that I ran out of time. I wasn't expecting to buy much - these magazine run shows never have many interesting traders and the one thing I wanted - some plastic putty - seemed to be unavailable. But I did buy (Tony avert your gaze) a DCC sound chip. Andy

Just a reminder to anyone following this thread that the layout will be at the Beckenham and West Wickham MRC show this coming Saturday (15th October). Do come and say hello if you're at the exhibition. I hope to post some photos of the show next week.

As mentioned above the other goodie from my postie was a pair of Interfrigo vans. The aim is to be able to recreate this service. This was a trial to restart the Mallaig fish traffic with a service to Grimsby which ran on the back of a passenger train to Fort William. It’s right at the end of my timeframe in 1987 but seems like too interesting a train to miss. The kits are from Skog who advertise on Facebook. They are 3D printed and come like this. As normal with 3D printed kits they have lots of printing lines on the flat sides. I’m slowly winning with filler and Halfords filler primer, but I think I need one more go. Other than that the kit goes together very nicely. I think it’s a bit too reliant on 3D printing and I’m not sure the fine detail will last, but I’ll see how it goes. I am struggling with the decals. Steadfast Models are producing a set for me and the mock up looks good. However, there is one part we’re stuck on which is the Red Cross on the right hand door as seen in the photos on this link (kindly restored for me by @Kylestrome). I can’t find any pictures on which I can read the text beneath the red cross. Does anyone know what it might read?

Sadly he also brings the bills!

The postman brought a couple of goodies this week. The first was a couple of Interfrigo Van kits, of which more when I’ve made some progress. The other was this delightful signal box commissioned from Ed Hall. I think he’s done a superb job on this and I’m looking forward to seeing it in position. I didn’t specify the exact period, so it’s possible that I’ll need to repaint it, but first I need to work out what period it represents. In other news I’m painting the three completed baseboards, but as I’m sure you don’t want to see pictures of paint drying, I’ll leave them until there’s something more exciting to show! Andy

Thanks for all those photos. Very useful. The Mk1 1 camping coaches are, I believe, after my timeframe. About 1989 I think, becoming green and cream later. But that second camping coach photo is very useful for the look of the land between it and the station building - an angle I hadn’t seen before. interesting that they’ve obviously just removed the track and point to the end on siding with the loading dock. The levels are confusing. Sometimes the loading dock track looks almost level, but this photo shows that it is lower than the signal box and your photo shows that as level with the platform tracks.

Thanks. I’ve been doing a bit of extra research myself on these coaches. There is a good picture on p34 of the West Highland Extension by Tom Noble which shows these camping coaches. Pullman Camping Coach 51 was not actually a Pullman car but was a SECR Royal Train coach. A good description of it is here: https://sremg.org.uk/coach/coupe/coupe_se07.pdf I believe that the other coach was Pullman Camping Coach no 45 which was originally Third Class Car No 47, a 12 wheeler. I assume this is the second coach in the photo, but there’s so little of it to see that I can’t be sure. No 51 was at Glenfinnan from ‘63-‘69 and was joined by No 45 from ‘67-‘69 - this coach had previously been at Lochailort and Arisaig. Andy

I love a J50 - good to see those photos. If I may offer some constructive criticism, I think the vans it’s pulling could do with a trip to Tim!

As I said in my first post, I intend the layout to cover quite a wide time frame from the 1950s until RETB introduction in 1987. So time for a steam loco! Here is my first and only working steamer so far. I acquired this from my friend and fellow RMWebber, @bbishop. All I’ve done so sort out some dodgy pick up arrangements so that it runs smoothly and renumber it to one of the Fort William regulars. This loco features in many West Highland photos of the ‘50s and early ‘60s, so will be at home on my Mallaig fish train or some maroon coaches. I’ll show the stock later once I have more of a layout to pose them on. An alternative use will be on the West Highlander steam train. The preserved K1, 62005 was renumbered to 62052 for a while in the mid 1990s. By this time, I think it was called the Jacobite and had maroon coaches, so I will have to bend the facts slightly as mine will run with green and cream Mk1s. I used Railtec transfers for the renumbering. The smokebox door number and shed plate are 3D water slide transfers. The first time I’ve used these, but they are cost effective and seem to work well. Sorry for the orientation of the photo! Andy

I made some progress on the baseboards yesterday. I now have three frames built and the OSB3 decking fir the track is roughly cut as you can see below. This shot shows the lines descending to the loading bank and camping coach line. I’m still jiggling the exact alignment to make sure I’m happy. I will then cut the deck closer to the track alignment, glue it down and paint the three boards fully before permanent track laying. Andy

I’m making steady progress on the baseboards and I’ll post a progress on them soon. But in the meantime, I thought I’d share some stock photos. This is my latest acquisition for Glenfinnan. One of the new Heljan 37/4s which came in unnumbered form. It seems to be an improvement on previous Heljan offerings with things like bogie chains included as standard and better fitting brackets for the snow ploughs. I have based it on my favourite 37/4, using Fox nameplates and Railtec transfers. I spent last night attaching all the pipes for which Heljan supply a comprehensive selection and some spares. I also filled in the hole for the RETB mast and painted the head code box which looks fine in the flesh but looks a bit wonky in the photo - any suggestions on how I get that straight?! It’s supposed to be in early condition representing the period between naming on 1/9/86 and RETB in Dec 1987. I.e. similiar to the photo below but without the RETB kit (and rather less dented!). I’m not sure whether the white ended pipe under the left buffer on mine should be attached as I can’t see it in the photo. Anyone know what this was for? I’ve just done one end of the pipes for now as the other end will be coupled to the coaches and I can’t couple it up with everything attached! Andy

I know that none of my kit built chassis worked well before you showed me how. And I still find that part of a kit build the hardest and most stressful. They take a lot of fettling. I’m much happier putting a body on a RTR chassis when I can find one of the correct dimensions.

Bill, My understanding is that the camping coach was there in the 1960s (a Pullman) and then absent until reintroduced when the museum opened. I’d like to include one if possible. Do you know of one which was there in the 1980s? You mention two platform shelters and two signal cabins. Do you have any photos of the second one of each? Regards Andy